Apparatus for forming a package



Nov. 21, 1961 o. E. SEIFERTH ET AL 3,009,302

APPARATUS FOR FORMING A PACKAGE Original Filed Nov. 21, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 uw gszv 101:5 aiCarifiezfert/z,

81/06/212 1% Quiz??? W M1 Nov. 21, 1961 o. E. SEIFERTH ET AL 3,009,302

APPARATUS FOR FORMING A PACKAGE Original Filed Nov. 21, 1955 2 SheetsSheet 2 mg zazvroRs. Oscarifiezfedh, BY Glam/ 7 Jwzaz,

3,009,302 APPARATUS FOR FORMING A PACKAGE Oscar E. Seifertlr and Glenn M. Austin, Madison, Wis., assignors to Oscar Mayer & (30., Inc., Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Illinois Original application Nov. 21, 1955, Ser. No. 548,093, now Patent No. 2,938,801, dated May 31, 1960. Divided and this application July 3, 1959, Ser. No. 824,846

4 Claims. (Cl. 53-221) This invention relates to packaging and is more particularly concerned with improvements in a package and a method and apparatus for forming the same in which a predetermined quantity of a product is enclosed in a relatively flexible transparent wrapper which forms the top and side walls of the package and which is sealed at its margins to the peripheral edges of a relatively rigid member which supports the product and forms the bottom wall of the package.

This application is a division of our copending application Serial No. 548,093, filed November 21, 1955, now Patent No. 2,938,801.

It is a general object of the invention to provide an improved package which is characterized by a transparent wrapper in the formof a bag, a closure therefor in the form of a relatively rigid panel member, and a predetermined quantity of a food product arranged therein so that it is supported by the rigid closure member and visible through the bag or wrapper which is arranged with its marginal edges in sealed relation with the closure member.

It is a more specific object of the invention to provide a package of a food product, for example, sliced bologna, and a method and apparatus for forming the same wherein a predetermined quantity of the sliced food product is arranged in superimposed stacked relation on a relatively rigid supporting member and enclosed in an impermeable transparent wrapper of relatively thin film material, the wrapper having its marginal edges in sealed relation with the marginal edges of the supporting member and wherein a relatively narrow band of at least semi-rigid material is arranged around the product with one end thereof which is adjacent the margins of the supporting member secured in crimped relation to the peripheral portions of the supporting member and the marginal edges of the transparent wrapper.

It is another object of the invention to provide a package of a sliced meat product and a method of forming the same wherein a plurality of the slices of the product are arranged in stacked relation with one end of the stack supported on a bottom forming metal disk and with the sides thereof enclosed in a relatively thin flexible transparent wrapping material and wherein a peripheral band of at least semi-rigid continuous plastic material encompasses the end of the product which is adjacent the bottom forming metal disk with the marginal edges of the wrapping material and the end of the band being crimp sealed to the edges of the bottom forming metal disk while the package is vacuumized whereby to form a hermetically sealed package.

It is another object of the invention to provide a hermetically sealed food package comprising a rigid metal panel member, a relatively thin narrow band formed of at least semi-rigid polystyrene plastic extending around the periphery of the panel member, a bag formed of a transparent film having the mouth thereof securely crimped between an outwardly flared edge of the band and the panel member and a quantity of a food product contained in the bag and supported on the panel member, the panel member having its marginal edge initially turned upwardly and the band having its adjacent margin flared outwardly and the latter being adapted to be expanded sufliciently rates Patent ice to bring the edge of the band with the margins of the bag material draped thereover into snug engagement with the upwardly turned edge of the panel member whereby the edges of the material are held together while a crimp seal is formed thereon.

It is another object of the invention to provide in an apparatus for forming a package of the character described, a support for the bag forming film material and a predetermined quantity of the food product to be packaged therein together with the sealing band forming member and the rigid closure forming panel member while the margins of the latter are crimped sealed to the edge of the band and the margin of the film.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a method of forming a package of the character described wherein a supporting form is provided for the bag forming material and the product being packaged, which form has a ledge around the periphery of the upper edge for receiving a sealing band member with the marginal portions of the bag material draped thereover and a rigid panel member supported thereon while the marginal edges of the latter and the marginal portions of the bag and of the sealing band member are crimp sealed to each other.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from a consideration of the package and the method and apparatus employed in forming the same which is shown by way of illustration in the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a completed package which embodies therein the principal features of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary section taken on the line 22 of FIG. 1 toan enlarged scale;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a sealing ring or band member which is employed in forming the package;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary section taken on the line 4-4 of FIG. 3, to an enlarged scale;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a cylindrical support or holder member which is employed in forming the package;

FIG. 6 is an elevation of the support member shown in FIG. 4 with the package elements arranged above the same, portions of the view being broken away and other portions thereof being in section;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary section on a diameter of the support member with the package elements assembled therewith in proper relationship for forming the crimp seal at the base of the package;

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary section similar to FIG. 7 with the support member and the package elements clamped in position for the crimp seal operation; and

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary section similar to FIG. 8 illustrating the completed crimp seal and trimming operation.

The package and the method of forming the same will be best understood by referring first to FIGS. 1 and 2. of the drawings in which the completed package is shown. The illustrated package comprises a quantity of a product 10 which is indicated as a sliced bologna or similar material, a wrapper .11 of transparent sheet material, which is in the form of a bag and which encloses one end and the greater portion of the side walls of the product 10, a bottom forming closure disk 12, which overlies the open end of the wrapper in engagement with one end of the contents or product 10, and a relatively narrow band member surrounding the end portions of the side walls of the product 10 and which is secured to the marginal portions of the wrapper .11 and to the peripheral portions of the closure disk 12 in crimp sealed relation therewith.

The package is especially adapted for use in packaging sliced products with a plurality of slices of the product arranged in superimposed relation and supported in up,- iight stack forming condition on the closure disk 12. However, the package may be employedin the merchandising of various other products of a similar character such as sliced cheese, meat loaf or a solid block or the like.

The wrapper or bag forming member 11 is preferably a sheet of relatively thin flexible transparent film material such as vinylidene chloride, that is, Saran, or other continuous plastic film or combinations of the same having similar characteristics. The film may be a single ply as illustrated in the drawings or it may be formed of a plurality of plies and for superior results, the plies are separated by a film of oil in the manner disclosed in our copending application Serial No. 473,879, filed December 8, 1954, now Patent No. 2,787,552.

The closure disk or support member 12 comprises a substantially flat panel-like member preferably formed of rigid material such as sheet metal. The support member 12 may be round or square, depending upon the nature and size or shape of the product 10. The marginal portion of member 12 is adapted to be rolled into a crimped seal formation, or double seam as it is known in the canning art. As initially supplied, the member 12 is provided, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, with a sealing channel 14 extending around the peripheral margin thereof and the peripheral side portions 15 may be turned slightly inwardly towards the center of the disk 12.

The sealing band or ring member 13, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, consists of a frusto-conical section preferably formed of a suitable plastic material, for example, polystyrene. It is relatively thin but of suflicient thickness to give it substantial rigidity while at the same time permitting it to be stretched somewhat and to be cold worked without rupture. In cross section it consists of an upwardly and inwardly tapered wall section 16 and an outwardly flared relatively narrow flange-like base portion 17.

In forming the package, the product 10, the wrapper 11, the band 13 and the disk 12 are all assembled with a form 18, which is shown in FIGS. to 7, and which supports the package elements in assembled relation during the crimp sealing operation. The form 18 comprises a cylindrical section 19 which may be of any suitable metal such as iron or brass and which is provided at its uppermost edge with an inner peripheral recess or counterbore 20 in which there is secured by a press fit or the like a spring steel band member 21, the latter extending above the upper edge of the section 19 and providing thereon an outer peripheral recess or rabbit 22 with a bottom forming abutment shoulder 23 which is grooved or knurled as shown in FIG. 5. The supporting form 18 is provided with a bottom forming insert or disk 24 which may be removed and replaced by a like disk of a different height so as to produce packages of different depth or height.

In assembling the package elements for the crimp sealing operation, the band 13 is first positioned in inverted relation on the shoulder or ledge 23 of the form 18 as shown in FIG. 7. The wrapper sheet 11 is placed over the top of the form 18 with the band 13 in place and the stack of meat slices or other product is pushed down into the recess formed between the bottom forming member 24 and the top of the form 18 carrying the wrapper 11 with the same and allowing the marginal portions 25 thereof to extend in outwardly and downwardly draped relation over the bottom flange 17 of the band 13 as shown in FIG. 7. The bottom forming disk 12 is then positioned over the top of the assembled product with the seal forming recess 14 encompassing the top edge of the flange 17 of the band 13. The normal outside diameter of the flange 1'1 of the band 13 is somewhat less than the inside diameter of the flanged marginal edge of the closure disk 12 so that there is a definite clearance 26 for the flange 17 to seat in the recess 14, as shown in FIG. 7. The assembly is at this stage positioned in a on'mp seal forming machine of known type, such as a sealer used in the canning industry, which includes a platform or support member 27 and an upper clamping disk 28 which are movable relative to each other. The clamping disk 28 has its peripheral wall tapered at 29 to fit within the recess 30 in the top of the closure disk 12.

The assembly is positioned in the machine as shown in FIG. 7 with the seam forming portions of the package elements aligned with crimping rollers 31 which are mounted for radial movement in the crimping head and provided with peripheral crimp forming grooves 32. The package assembly and the supporting and clamping members are moved relative to each other to bring the clamping plate 28 into engagement with the closure disk 12 with suflicient pressure being applied to cause the band 13 to expand in a radial direction and force the flange forming portion 17 and the wrapper margins 25 into engagement with the flange 15 of the disk 12. The package assembly and the supporting structure for the seam form ing rollers 31 are then rotated relative to each other and the rollers 31 are moved inward into engagement with the overlapped margins of the package forming'elements to form the crimp seal. Thereafter, the projecting edge portions of the margins 25 of the wrapper member 11 are removed by a suitable cutter element which may be a cutting roller or disk 33 (FIG. 9). After the trimming operation the form 18 with the completed package therein is removed from the sealing machine and the package is removed therefrom, the form being then returned to its initial location for repeating the package forming cycle of operations.

While the form 18 is shown as a tubular section with a removable bottom forming member 24, it may be any shape desired depending upon the nature of the product which is being packaged. Also, the depth of the recess provided in the form may be readily adjusted by providing bottom forming inserts 24 of different depth. The diameter of the recess may also be varied by providing tubular inserts (not shown) of varying wall thickness which permits the use of the same size form 18 and the same size wrapping elements where the product is of less diameter than the normal diameter of the package. The details of the seam forming mechanism which are referred to are illustrative and the seaming operations may be performed with any suitable apparatus while the package forming elements are supported in assembled relation in the supporting form or jig 18. The package elements are clamped in the form 18 during relative movement of the form 18 and the crimp sealing members with suflicient pressure to prevent rotation of the package elements relative to the form 18, the corrugations on the shoulder 22 serving to resist any tendency of the plastic band 13 to rotate. The clamping plate 28 also forms an anvil opposite the crimping members 31 during the seam forming operation.

We claim:

1. A form for use in supporting an assembly of packaging elements during a package forming operation, which assembly consists of a flexible wrapper, a relatively thin, narrow tubular seal forming band and a relatively thin, rigid metal closure member, said form comprising an upright hollow tubular member of rigid material having a side wall with an upwardly facing edge which is of substantial width and a relatively shallow peripheral recess on the inner face adjacent the upper edge thereof, a relatively thin, narrow spring steel band secured in said recess with the inner face of said band being substantially flush with the adjoining inner surface of said tubular member, said band having an upper marginal portion projecting above the upper end of the tubular member which has an external diameter less than the corresponding diameter of the tubular member, thereby providing an outer upwardly opening peripheral recess at the end of the form for supporting the seal forming band in edge engaging relation thereon, the bottom of said recess being grooved for frictional engagement with the edge of said band, and a removable and replaceable bottom member in said tubular member.

2. A form for use in supporting in inverted relation an assembly of package forming elements during a package assembling and forming operation, which assembly consists of a flexible wrapper, a relatively thin and narrow tubular seal forming band, a relatively thin, rigid metal closure member and a quantity of a product, the package when formed having the product supported on the closure member in the upright position and covered by the wrapper with the margins of the wrapper crimp sealed between bottom edge portions of the tubular band and outer edge portions of the closure member, said form comprising an upright hollow tubular member of rigid material having a side wall of substantial thickness with an upwardly facing edge and a peripheral recess on the inner face at said upper edge, a relatively thin, narrow spring steel band member seated in said recess with its inner surface substantially flush with the adjoining inner surface of said tubular member, said band member having an upper marginal portion projecting above the upper edge ofsaid tubular member which has an external diameter less than the external diameter of the tubular member at said upper edge, thereby providing an outwardly and upwardly opening peripheral recess at the upper end of the form for supporting the narrow seal fOlming band of the package assembly in inverted, edge engaging relation with the bottom wall of said recess and with the top portions of the sealing band projecting above the top edge of said steel band member, and a bottom forming member within the lower end of said tubular member which bottom forming member has its top surface spaced below the top edge of said steel band member a distance corresponding to the height of the completed package so as to support said assembly with the central portion of the wrapper and the product resting on said top surface and with the margins of the wrapper draped outwardly over the top edge of the sealing band and the top edge of the tubular member.

3. A form for use in supporting in inverted relation an assembly of package forming elments during a packaging operation, which assembly consists of a flexible wrapper, a relatively thin and narrow tubular seal forming band, a relatively thin, rigid metal closure member and a quantity of a product, the product being supported on the closure member when the package is completed and in the upright position with the wrapper covering the product and having its margins crimp sealed between the bottom edge portions of the tubular band and peripheral edge portions of the closure member, said form comprising an upright hollow tubular member having a side wall of relatively thick rigid material with an upwardly facing edge and having an upwardly opening annular recess in said upper edge thereof, a relatively thin, narrow spring steel band member having a bottom marginal portion disposed in said recess, said band member having an upper marginal portion projecting above the upper edge of said tubular member which has an external diameter less than the corresponding diameter of the adjoining portions of the upwardly facing edge of said tubular memher, thereby providing an outwardly and upwardly opening peripheral recess of a depth and width at the end of the form for receiving the seal forming band of the package assembly in inverted edge supported relation thereon and a bottom forming member within said tubular member which is spaced a distance below the top edge of the form corresponding to the depth of the completed package so as to provide an upwardly opening pocket for supporting therein the wrapper and the product with the central portion of the wrapper folded about the bottomend and sides of the product and with the margins of the wrapper draped outwardly over the edge of the upwardly projecting portion of the sealing band.

4. A form for use in supporting in inverted relation an assembly of package forming elements during a package assembling and closing operation, which assembly consists of a flexible wrapper, a relatively thin, narrow, tubular seal forming band of stiff and readily deformable material, a relatively thin, rigid metal closure member and a quantity of a product, the package in its final form having the product supported on the closure member in the upright position and covered by the wrapper with the margins of the wrapper crimp sealed between bottom edge portions of the tubular band and peripheral edge portions of the closure member, said form comprising an upright rigid hollow tube having an open upper end and a side wall of substantial thickness with an upwardly facing edge and an upwardly and outwardly opening peripheral recess in the outer face thereof which is of less depth than the corresponding dimension of the narrow seal forming band thereby providing an outer upwardly facing peripheral shoulder of substantial width at the end of the form for receiving the seal forming band in inverted edge supported relation thereon, said shoulder being grooved on its upwardly facing surface for frictional engagement with the edge of the seal forming band so as to hold said band in non-rotating position when downwardly directed pressure is applied to the top edge thereof, and a bottom member in the lower end of said tubular member which is spaced a suflicient distance below the top edge of the form to provide an upwardly opening pocket for receiving the wrapper and the product with the lowermost end and sides of the product enveloped in the wrapper and the margins of the wrapper draped over the topmost edge of the sealing band and said upwardly facing edge of the form.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 758,234 Bardin Apr. 26, 1904 1,780,508 Schulse Nov. 4, 1930 2,678,764 Carlson May 18, 1954 FOREIGN PATENTS 270,830 Great Britain May 19, 1927 

